This case study showcases the transformation of an online banking system to
the mobile market. In particular how traditional online banking for Citibank
Australia was transferred to an award nominated (MMA awards) i-mode service.

What do you do if you're forced to give quick feedback on a product? You
know that the best answer would be to run a usability test -- but time or other
constraints make it impossible. This session will give you ideas about what to
do if you have thirty minutes, and what else to do if you have two days. It is
based on actual reviews conducted by the presenter and will be illustrated with
'war stories' about what went right -- and the risks you might run by giving
quick feedback.

Traditional consultancy models bring obvious benefit to the consultant, but
can leave clients shortchanged in more ways the one. When consultants walk away
from a project, too often with them go insights and ideas that could benefit
the organisation for months and even years.

Australians have little understanding of our complex aged care system, and a
tendency to hide from aged care until some emergency forces us to face it. When
this happens, we quickly discover that the available information is fragmented
and confusing. This case study discusses the development of Aged Care Choices,
a new 'shopfront' for the entire spectrum of government-funded aged care
services. Information rich and highly interactive, Aged Care Choices was
developed with a strong consumer focus, based on a solid market research
foundation.

This case study looks at the experiences of one practitioner in his attempts
to introduce a user-centred design framework into the online engineering and
financial practices of one of Australia's largest corporations.

Consortium

The research is about developing a better understanding of what constitutes
effective design rationale in the web design context, and using this
understanding to develop and test a lightweight design rationale process. The
primary aim is to find a way of harvesting the design rationale that exists in
web design team, but may not be explicitly acknowledged.

Formal methods of generating and specifying requirements have a chequered
past when it comes to dealing with interface design. The Human Computer
Interface (HCI) community have not adopted formal methods with open arms
[Paterno 96].

Voice recognition technology for visual artists with disabilities in their
upper limbs

Currently most assistive technologies are designed with the specific aim of
assisting disabled people in employment and independent living. Whilst there is
no dispute about the value of such technologies, there is a dire need to
enhance their "quality of life" (Daye 1998; Scherer 1996).

Creative geeks..?: facilitating the creative growth of computer science
students using engaging environments

This study explores the enhancement of creativity in students studying
computer science at a tertiary level. It has been widely acknowledged
(Blumenthal et al., 2003) that while creativity is advantageous to any form of
study, the perceived lack of creativity, and its expression, in computer
science students severely hampers their ability to accommodate the skills
necessary to successfully perform within the IT industry. These creative skills
include: innovation, intrinsic motivation, self confidence, independence of
judgement, a wide range of interest and tolerance of ambiguity (Bahleda &
Runco, 1989; Ripple, 1989). Further, this study explores the potential of both
technological and social collaborative environments to enhance and nurture
these requisite creative skills. Computer science students are particularly
receptive to online collaboration, thus being a focus in this study. Creativity
is multifaceted with the components of person, product process and press
(environment) interacting. Previous research has focussed on components of
creativity such as person, process and product, yet fails to acknowledge the
significance of the role of the environment, specifically online collaborative
environments, as a facilitator for nurturing the creative person. Ironically,
considering the apparent myth of the computer science student or "geek" who is
perceived as a particularly anti-social creature, such a nurturing environment
is the result of a social collaboration between the creative person and peers,
mentors and teachers. In this study the creative environment is made possible
through the use of computer support, or Creativity Support Systems (CSS).

This study has its origins in an environment producing interactive
educational multimedia materials for adults. It begins at an intersection where
a particular device of interface is being developed under the influence of an
educational designer. It intends travelling from there, with the aid of a
generally qualitative compass, toward a goal of creating a coherent descriptive
framework. Built primarily on selected cases and perspectives from designers
who have employed the device in these, the study is initiated with an intention
of creating three products: A rationale for use of static visual humanoid
devices; A scheme to describe the placement of such visuals in the interface
and their pedagogical or other roles, and; A map of design decision processes
and the attributes among which designers choose in arriving at a particular
visual manifestation, providing an indication of factors affecting choices
made.

My work is set within the area of personal information management (PIM).
More particularly, I am interested in the process of re-finding and the
emotional aspect of this. Here the term refinding is the process where
resources, such as web pages, that have previously been seen by a user are
later retrieved. Whereas the original process of finding the resources often
occurs in the public domain (e.g. WWW), the process of re-finding often uses
private collection such as bookmarks. The research will investigate the
experienced and novice users. We feel that these two types of users employed
different strategy and approach in achieving their information target. We would
like to bridge the gap between these two users by having a generic model which
both users can benefit from it.

Demonstrations

The Chordic Graphical User Interface (CGUI) was originally developed at the
Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) to enable divers to control the
WetPC Underwater Computer. It comprises two main elements: a hand controller
and a visual on-screen notation. The technology has numerous advantages for
mobile computing, and can be readily combined with additional inputs and
outputs to provide multi-modal control under almost any conditions. WetPC Pty
Ltd is commercialising the technologies under license from AIMS for a broad
range of markets and applications. The CGUI is useful anywhere that rapid, easy
computer control is required under diverse and difficult conditions.

Eye-tracking technology facilitates studies into where a person is focusing
their attention on a visual stimulus (usually presented via a screen).
Eye-tracking is used for multiple purposes in a variety of contexts and the
technology has been refined to the point where it is portable and completely
unobtrusive to the eye-tracking subject. However, rather than focusing on the
technology, this demonstration will illustrate how eye-tracking can contribute
to traditional usability testing, including a live demonstration of analysing
eye-tracking data and how it can assist in further examining the causality of
usability issues and give cues to potential solutions.

Keynotes

Businesses' business is to stay in business -- to create value for customers
while creating jobs and revenue for employees and stakeholders. Government can
also be thought of as a "business" -- government must create value for citizens
by providing services and managing government operations efficiently. Behind
good government and good business are processes supported by systems that work
for the people running organizations. When processes and systems get in the
way, organizations cannot deliver value -- and they frustrate employees,
customers, and citizens alike.

Exploring e-democracy and online service delivery for Australian
governments: a background to Australian e-government usage

Australian governments at all levels are becoming more sophisticated with
their internet activities. No longer just static information pages, the modern
government website has become a recognised service channel, and in the last
twelve months, thirty nine per cent of all Australians had made contact with a
government agency using this new channel.

Since Human Computer Interaction (HCI) developed as a field in the late
1970s, it has been continually challenged to identify and address the
people-centred issues in making new (and old) technologies fit with human needs
and capabilities. A review of the history of HCI is useful to chart its
evolving response to ongoing technical advances, from command line interfaces
to windows environments, from stand alone to networked distributed systems, and
from desktop to mobile devices. At each stage, we can identify the theoretical,
conceptual and methodological developments that have happened to meet each new
challenge. These more recent moves to ubiquitous computing, however, create new
even more complex challenges than have ever been faced before.

Long papers

Automatic recognition of affective cues in the speech of car drivers to
allow appropriate responses

Speech interaction with in-car systems is becoming more commonplace as
systems improve. New cars are often equipped with speech recognition systems to
dial phone numbers and or control the in-car environment, and with speech
output to provide verbal directions from navigation systems. The paper explores
the possibilities of richer speech interaction between driver and car with
automatic recognition of the emotional state of the driver with appropriate
responses from the car. Driver's emotions often influence driving performance
that could be improved if the car actively responds to the emotional state of
the driver. This paper focuses on an in-car emotion recognition system to
recognise driver emotional state.

Task performance data and subjective assessment data are widely used as
usability measures in the human-computer interaction (HCI) field. Recently,
physiology has also been explored as a metric for evaluating usability.
However, it is not clear how physiological measures relate to traditional
usability evaluation measures. In this paper, we investigated the relationships
among three kinds of data: task performance, subjective assessment and
physiological measures. We found evidence that physiological data correlate
with task performance data in a video game: with a decrease of the task
performance level, the normalized galvanic skin response (GSR) increases. In
addition, physiological data are mirrored in subjective reports assessing
stress level. The research provides an initial step toward establishing a new
usability method using physiology as a complementary measure for traditional
HCI evaluation.

Supporting awareness plays a prominent role in facilitating natural and
effective communication in Instant Messaging (IM). This paper reports our
empirical study of awareness in IM, using an online survey and face-to-face
interviews to identify user needs for awareness support. The study has
identified three themes, including awareness of multiple concurrent
conversations, presence awareness of a group conversation, and visibility of
moment-to-moment listeners and viewers. The study showed that these three types
of awareness are necessary but have been either ineffectively supported or
ignored by current IM systems. Drawing on these findings, we have designed
three awareness features to support these three categories of awareness.
Conversation Dock provides awareness of multiple conversations; Group List
provides presence awareness in a group chat by showing who are no longer in the
group chat and who are going to join the chat; and Track View provides
awareness of in-progress listeners in voice conversations and in-progress
viewers in video conversations.

Evaluation using cued-recall debrief to elicit information about a user's
affective experiences

While affect and emotion are recognised as important factors in the success
of many systems, there is a lack of methods to effectively address these during
evaluation. The present study explores the use of the cued-recall debrief
methodology, a form of situated recall, as a method to elicit information about
user affect during system use. The results indicate that the cued-recall
debrief can successfully elicit information about user affect while playing
computer games. The cued-recall debrief methodology requires minimal equipment,
and is easy to apply -- both factors that enhance its viability for use in
industry.

We contribute to research and practice in User Centred Design (UCD) by
arguing that, in certain contexts, the literal and restrictive interpretation
of 'user' as hands-on user can be a hurdle to achieving development processes
that are profoundly use-centred, and products that better support end users.
Our example case focuses on Child Centred Design (CCD) and drawing on empirical
data, we negate some popular concerns relating to the involvement of teachers
in the child-designer equation, and suggest new structures for children and
their teachers to jointly engage in UCD. The traditional power structure of
adult-child or teacher-student, seen by previous authors as a barrier to
involving teachers in CCD, is challenged and the need for an extension of the
designer-child partnership to include a significant role for teachers is
proposed. The implications for the wider UCD literature relate to a broadening
of stakeholder involvement in design.

In this paper we briefly report on our investigations into the development
of representation design techniques to take advantage of capabilities that a
novel Multi-Layered Display (MLD) technology affords for improving information
uptake in information intensive environments. The MLD comprises two LCD screens
separated by a 14 mm thick transparent perspex layer. Data presented on the
rear screen is viewable through the front LCD. By combining transparency,
colour, form of the data, and motion, we can create physically distinct layers
of information which affords new ways of presenting information, such as
information layering, focus + context, visual linking and information foraging
support. Because of the visual effects caused by overlaying information in the
physical layers, some of the old rules of display design such as optimal colour
combinations, are no longer applicable within this context. New techniques for
visualisation and interaction are needed, not just to make such a display
readable, but also to take advantage of the new display capabilities. While we
are still some way from prescribing techniques for designing information in
layers across physically overlapping displays, we will also discuss five early
lessons learned from the process of developing such design techniques.

Identification of usability problems is a key element in a usability
evaluation of an interactive system. This paper presents and discusses results
from an empirical study of problem identification. The study includes an
experiment, where it was examined to what extent a conceptual tool can support
problem identification in a usability evaluation. A group of novice evaluators
was divided into two, and one of the groups received a conceptual tool and a
related presentation of ideas and examples. Both groups conducted a usability
evaluation based on the same recording of a user applying a web-based system to
solve a series of tasks. It is concluded that the conceptual tool and training
in using the tool improve the problem identification performance of a group of
inexperienced usability evaluators.

Dawn explorer: a framework for multimodal accessibility to computer systems

Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, automating many everyday chores in
the process, changing the way we perform work and providing various forms of
entertainment. Makers of technology, however, often do not consider the needs
of the disabled in their design of products by, for example, providing some
alternative means of input. The use of computers presents a challenge to many
disabled users who are not able to see graphical user interfaces, use a mouse
or keyboard or otherwise interact with standard computers. This paper presents
a multimodal user interface, emulating and extending the functionality of the
Windows Explorer application, with alternative input and output methods. The
project utilizes auditory and visual interaction technologies, comprises a
modular and extendible architecture and utilises off-the-shelf hardware to
reduce implementation cost and maximize accessibility.

Mobile devices, applications and services have become integrated into
people's daily lives on a personal and professional level. Although traditional
research methods are being used to understand the use of mobile devices and
applications, methodological challenges still exist. Researchers have responded
to these challenges in a range of ways, with an emphasis on developing methods
that enable new ways of accessing, making available and collecting, data about
mobile technology use. This paper identifies, defines, describes and presents,
a preliminary framework for understanding the methodological responses emerging
in current Mobile Human Computer Interaction (Mobile HCI) research.

In this paper we present an augmented virtuality system with a set of
tangible devices for interactive visualization with scientific data (volumetric
scalar field data and molecular data). We describe the design concepts and
application scenarios that underlie the development of the interfaces and
system. The prototype system allows users to interact with scientific data by
manipulating tangible devices, such as a graspable cube, pen and plane frame.
These devices provide passive haptic cues that help the user to maintain
position awareness and relative spatial relation during three-dimensional (3D)
interaction. Active stereoscopic shutter glasses can be used to provide a 3D
display, whenever necessary. We describe the differences with traditional fish
tank and fully immersive virtual reality (VR) systems. At the end of the paper,
we discuss the user experience and the research questions related to VR system
with tangible interfaces for visualization application. Our planned activities
for obtaining a more in-depth understanding of some of the usability issues
involved through user study are described as well.

While informal tools can benefit early design, their use requires that a
designer surrender the richer affordances of physical tools. To better
understand the importance of physical tools for early design, we conducted
contextual interviews with twelve designers. We found that paper is an integral
part of the early design process and argue that informal tools will not realize
their full potential unless they provide similar benefits. We recommend that
informal tools provide a mechanism to connect the use of physical tools to
complement their electronic interfaces. We discuss several mechanisms and use
lessons from our study to evaluate their relative strengths and weaknesses,
concluding that a digital ink interface would be most effective. A realistic
scenario involving a digital ink interface is evaluated. Results confirm our
design rationale and suggest that a digital ink interface would benefit
existing design practice.

This paper reports on the development of a unique software prototype that
combines digital information spaces with sound and intelligent agent support.
This prototype is innovative in its use of digital space as a mechanism for
arranging image based information for presentation scenarios. Working with a
spatial approach to digital environments, this research presents the prototype,
and examines the enhancement of digital space in two principal areas: spatial
sound and intelligent agent support.

Technology for the humdrum: trajectories, interactional needs and a care
setting

We report on a care setting where staff looking after ex-psychiatric
hospital patients were supported by mobile and stationary communications
technology (e.g. mobile phones and a messaging system) and physical artefacts
(e.g. whiteboards and Post-It notes). Building on previous ethnographic
investigations, we show that the notion of trajectory (or an ongoing course of
action) was important for understanding staff's care work. We argue that
sensitivity to this notion was helpful in identifying the key transitions,
cycles, plans and management issues in staff's ongoing work. We present
verified trajectory-informed scenarios emerging from fieldwork and show that
these snapshots of work were useful for establishing current and future
interactional needs among staff and residents. Finally we describe issues
pertinent to new technology design emerging from these trajectory-informed
scenarios and discuss the usefulness of the concept for informing
socio-technical system design.

This paper looks at effective training as a way of extending older people's
computer use. Computer training approaches from Carroll's work on minimal
manuals and training wheels approaches were combined with recommendations for
design for older users drawn from the literature in order to design an
interactive tutorial for training older users in file management skills. The
design factors behind the tutorial are described. 25 older participants were
chosen who had failed to learn file management skills using other methods.
Tests of these participants' ability to perform file management tasks after
completing the tutorial showed that an interactive tutorial that was carefully
designed for older learners could, in fact, extend the range of skills
available to these users.

This paper presents a new framework for accessibility based on a broad
framework for metadata about adaptability. Accessibility is generally
associated with the needs of people with disabilities while adaptability
includes, for example, the transformation of digital resources and services for
users as they change from one access device to another, as is the case when one
uses a telephone instead of a desktop computer screen to display a web page.
Adaptability with accessibility in mind involves more than device compatibility
as it takes into account user's individual needs at the time of delivery of
resources and services.

The last decade has seen convergence marketed as one response to the
challenge of users having to juggle an increasingly wide array of digital
services, technologies and media. Key to this view is the assumption that by
converging computer devices, and digital media, the value of technology for end
users can be maximised whilst the overheads involved in purchasing, maintaining
and orchestrating a variety of different technology solutions can be minimised.
In contrast however, some authors have argued that convergence creates
weak-general solutions, and rather we should be aiming for strong-specific
technology by means of the deliberate design of multiple diverged devices. This
paper contributes to the ongoing discussion of convergence and divergence. We
discuss three apparently irreconcilable perspectives on the relationship
between functionality and usability, and show that they are in fact
complementary views of convergence. To ground this discussion we draw on the
results of a recent cultural probes study of a cohort of early adopters of
converged devices.

This paper describes the development of movement-oriented personas and
scenarios for representing multiple users of an interactive, immersive
environment, designed as an artistic work for a public space. Personas and
scenarios were integrated into a user interaction script and linked to a set of
movement schemas using Labanotation for group choreography. Enactment of the
script within a prototype environment enabled the designers to experience the
aesthetic and kinaesthetic qualities of the work, as well as the social
interactional aspects of the user experience. This ensured that the experience
of those visiting the exhibition was always central to the design process.

LetterEase, a new technique for text entry on a small handheld device is
described. Indeed, the current 12-button text entry keypad causes typing
overhead as 26 alphabet letters are assigned to only 8 buttons (2-9). The
LetterEase method uses letter-frequency data from SMS text messages collected
from real situations and the moving distance between buttons with thumb use. We
first discuss how to implement this LetterEase method, and then present the
results of a controlled experiment comparing LetterEase to the conventional
multitap method and the two-letter multitap method that was designed as a
control letter assignment. The results showed that both less keystrokes and
less errors using LetterEase were identified. In addition, despite slower text
entry speed than that of the conventional multitap method, in effect, the users
experienced LetterEase lessened the gap more readily during the course of the
experiment as fast as the conventional multitap method.

Image stitching allows users to combine multiple regular-sized photographs
into a single wide-angle picture, often referred to as a panoramic picture. To
create such a panoramic picture, users traditionally first take all the
photographs, then upload them to a PC and stitch. During stitching, however,
users often discover that the produced panorama contains artifacts or is
incomplete. Fixing these flaws requires retaking individual images, which is
often difficult by this time. In this paper, we present Panoramic Viewfinder,
an interactive system for panorama construction that offers a real-time preview
of the panorama while shooting. As the user swipes the camera across the scene,
each photo is immediately added to the preview. By making ghosting and
stitching failures apparent, the system allows users to immediately retake
necessary images. The system also provides a preview of the cropped panorama.
When this preview includes all desired scene elements, users know that the
panorama will be complete. Unlike earlier work in the field of real-time
stitching, this paper focuses on the user interface aspects of real-time
stitching. We describe our prototype, individual shooting modes, and an
implementation overview.

Towards understanding system acceptance: the development of an assessment
instrument and workpractice

This paper reports on work-to-date in the development of a survey instrument
to assess system acceptance. The system acceptance indicator (SAI) is being
developed as part of a PhD study into the introduction of software upgrades in
a regional university. The project is a three stage longitudinal study of the
parallel release of two applications. The SAI was developed from a framework of
human-computer interaction theories. The conceptual framework of the SAI is
reviewed and initial results from a series of user workshops and responses to
the SAI are discussed. The SAI was designed to quantify user experience and to
make explicit issues that IT system users may not be able to articulate. Even
at this early stage in its development, the SAI has proved to be a tool with
the potential to meet these requirements. Survey responses in the initial
stages of the study have led to a reorganisation of system training by the
university.

Current software interfaces for entering text on touch screen devices mimic
existing mechanisms such as keyboard typing or handwriting. These techniques
are poor for entering private text such as passwords since they allow observers
to decipher what has been typed simply by looking over the typist's shoulder,
an activity known as shoulder surfing. In this paper, we outline a general
approach for designing security-sensitive onscreen virtual keyboards that allow
users to enter private text without revealing it to observers. We present one
instantiation, the Spy-Resistant Keyboard, and discuss design decisions leading
to the development of this keyboard. We also describe the results of a user
study exploring the usability and security of our interface. Results indicate
that although users took longer to enter their passwords, using the
Spy-Resistant Keyboard rather than a standard soft keyboard resulted in a
significant increase in their ability to protect their passwords from a
watchful observer.

We report from a longitudinal laboratory-based usability evaluation of an
interactive system. A usability evaluation was conducted with novice users when
a large commercial electronic patient record system was being deployed in the
use organization. After the users had used the system in their daily work for
15 months, same evaluation was conducted again. Our aim was to inquire into the
nature of usability problems experienced by novice and expert users over time,
and to see to what extends usability problems may or may not disappear over
time, as users get more familiar with the system. On the basis of our two
usability evaluations, we present key findings on the usability of the
evaluated system as experienced by the two categories of users at these two
different points in time. Based on our findings, we discuss implications for
evaluating usability.

The challenge in intelligent environments is to overcome the dual forms of
the Invisibility Problem, specifically when it comes to managing security and
privacy in such environments. We present a user study (N = 17) that informs the
design of the personalisation that needs to be done to enable users to
effectively negotiate and control an intelligent environment, in particular the
MyPlace system.
This user study finds that trust is a critical aspect of intelligent
environment design. Effective feedback to the user and the management of
information flow across physical, social, and temporal borders is essential to
maintain user trust. Users are able to understand the invisibility problem, and
are willing to share personal information to receive a tangible benefit from
personalisation of intelligent services.

Involving psychometric tests for input device evaluation with older people

This paper presents a preliminary study of using psychometric tests when
testing input devices with older people. An experiment with twelve older
computer users evaluating three commonly used input devices (mouse, touch
screen and tablet-with-stylus) in two common computer tasks (browsing and
playing solitaire), preceded by a questionnaire and psychometric tests (Simple
Reaction Time, Mini Mental State Exam and Identical Picture), and concluded
with debriefing interviews, is described. The paper concludes that psychometric
tests can provide quantitative data that complement the information collected
through the questionnaire and interview and that some psychometric data were
the best predictor of task performance.

Understanding the context of use of a computing system is an important part
of designing human-centred interaction especially where that computing pervades
the places and activities of daily life. The aim of this paper is to introduce
two ontologies that represent understanding of 1) human perception of
architectural place and 2) sociality in an urban space, gained through field
studies of the physical and social layers of an urban environment. This paper
demonstrates how these ontologies are used to provide an understanding of
context of use of an urban space, and how to identify design opportunities for
informing design of a digital layer of pervasive computing.

Panels

As a still-emerging field, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) has enjoyed
varying uptake within large organisations. Some organisations have established
centralised groups to service HCI needs across the business. This panel aims to
explore how three Australian organisations have approached such a service and
how successful they have been. We will discuss issues such as how to justify
and promote HCI services internally, the role of executive sponsorship, and the
benefits (or otherwise) of high-profile assets such as usability laboratories.
Panellists will cover tips and traps for establishing and building a
centralised HCI function within large organisations.

This panel will discuss how academia can contribute to industry practice and
how industry practitioners can contribute to academia. We will focus in
particular on how theories and practices are formed and shaped in different
settings. We will discuss when academic theories and practices help industry,
when and why they are discarded, and how they are transformed in industry
settings.

Communication is a fine art when you speak the same language. When
communicating your vision to an overseas counterpart, how do you handle all of
the additional hurdles to ensure your design is not lost in translation?
Factors that need to be considered when communicating your vision to an
overseas counterpart include the different: culture, work ethics, time zone,
personnel, religions, languages. Listen to how three interaction designers have
dealt with all of these issues and more in translating their designs.

Short papers

Best practices in an online community for blind, partly sighted and fully
sighted children

Careful design and assistive technologies can make websites fully accessible
to people with visual impairments. However, accessibility does not equate with
usability or usefulness for the target audience. The Sonokids website has been
developed to bring young people together, including those with a loss of
vision. This paper outlines the considerations that were given to content,
accessibility, usability and visual attractiveness when creating this inclusive
online community. Website design good practices to meet the needs of all
children, regardless of visual impairment, which emerged during the
construction of the site are also outlined.

This study addresses everyday human practices in order to inform our
thinking around the design of technology to support human mobility and mobile
device use. Building on traditional ethnographic techniques, we investigated
the contents of people's bags, seeking traces of planning, decision making and
other social practices that people rely on to construct and maintain relations
between particular mobile objects and their particular mobile lives. The
research contributes to the development of novel methods for researching mobile
practices and its initial findings question assumptions about information use
and storage, and about the personalisation of mobile device and services.

Making sense of student use of nonverbal cues for intelligent tutoring
systems

Many software systems would significantly improve performance if they could
interpret the nonverbal cues in their user's interactions as humans normally
do. Currently, Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) (and other software systems)
are unable to use nonverbal cues to interpret student's responses to
instructional material as can human tutors. We believe that this capability is
essential to adapt teaching strategy to the needs of the learner. An experiment
was performed aimed at identifying what kinds of gestures are being used by
students in a human-to-human learning context. We have identified a range of
gestures being used in one-to-one tutoring environments and a dependency of
gesture use on students' skill level. As a result, we suggest how the student
model in an ITS should reflect this dependency. These results are applicable to
HCI in general.

The infostudio course unit introduced 3rd year undergraduate students to the
design of ambient display as physical, human-scale installations that convey
data-driven spatial experiences. Students developed ambient display
installations in a common printer hub room that subtly reflected the electronic
network traffic, human activities and environmental data within the adjacent
computer labs in real time. The resulting prototypes explored how the
combination of common networked home automation hardware controlling simple
electrical devices and multiple multimedia projections can be used to convey
real-time information through different human senses.

This paper outlines a conceptual view in characterising context awareness by
its roles in user interaction within a context-aware application. We propose
three high-level spheres of role based on the extent of how the context is used
to influence the interaction, namely interpretation, representation, and
effectuation. The challenges in performing each of these roles are briefly
discussed. Our perspective of looking at context-awareness provides alternative
approach for choosing level of "awareness" and identifying their risk in
designing context-aware applications.

The key factor in satisfying human expectation lies in identifying what the
user wants to achieve. This could be in the abstract form of a mission or a
more tangible and identifying form of a task or an activity. This paper
presents two notions. The first notion is acknowledging that the task or
activity performed has a significant focus when designing for context-sensitive
and mobile systems. The second notion argues that the identification of the
degree of structure within an activity can inform the level of probing and
exploring required when acquiring contextual information. We outline the
structure spectrum deduced from our research studies in this paper.

This paper outlines the conversion of a psychometric test to a web-based
study. The test measures understanding of three-dimensional (3D) concepts as it
applies to technical drawing. We describe the instrument in terms of its
subtests and examine implementation and data collection issues. Comments are
provided about technical, experimental design, participation and recruitment
matters. We report comparisons of reliability and validity measures against a
parallel laboratory-based study. Advantages and disadvantages of web-based
studies are summarized and the relevance of the instrument to industry is
addressed along with considerations for future developments.

User interface technology is an integral element of modern information and
communications systems. This paper describes the outcomes of a field study that
sought to design, develop, and evaluate a user interface suitable for an
Incident Management System. Initially, the study comprised interviews and
questionnaires used to examine how current systems are used, determine key
issues facing current users, and identify the functions, features and
behaviours a new system should exhibit. Subsequently, a mock-up was tested by
potential end-users. All user feedback was incorporated into a set of design
guidelines for the multimodal user interface of the new system. Preliminary
analysis of the mock-up interface suggests that a 37% improvement in task
time-to-completion could be achieved, together with 59% reduction in missed
calls from a variety of contacts.

This paper describes an empirical study of the attributes of effective
design rationale in the web design context. The presence of design rationale
was ascertained by analysing web design team interviews, observations and work
documents. Design rationale existed in many forms, but was limited in its
usefulness. Web design team members could meet their needs more effectively by
using existing design rationale more creatively. A method is proposed for
dynamically harvesting design rationale for reuse. The paper contributes to a
deeper understanding of design rationale in the web design context.

The characteristics of a web application are many and varied in comparison
to traditional applications. There is a larger spectrum of possibilities for
each web application characteristic. These differences provide additional
motivation to examine a web application's usability. These characteristics can
aide in better defining and measuring web usability, through determining of the
set of usability attribute.

Subjective understanding of context attributes may cause potential usability
risks when designing context-aware mobile applications. This paper presents a
survey-based study of people's individual perceptions on defining and grouping
context attributes. The findings demonstrate the problem areas that were found
on several commonly used context attributes, such as temperature, time, noise
level and movements.

Short Message Service (SMS) is a popular method of non-verbal communication.
So far, the majority of research has been conducted upon teenagers and young
adults. In our work, we investigate the use of SMS services by middleaged
users. A usability study of SMS is conducted, evaluating how effectively
middle-aged users engage in SMS activities. Ease of use and difficulties
experienced by middle-aged users are assessed after completing predetermined
scenarios and SMS tasks on two different mobile phone handsets. Such usability
issues experienced by middle-aged users of SMS include the level complexity of
the navigational keys and the need for efficiency.

This paper presents an application of work domain analysis to a new joint
operational headquarters of the Australian Defence Force. Work domain analysis
provides a baseline for defining the problem space of operational-level command
and control. This analytical framework focuses evaluation on how well the
purposive context is satisfied so that, in this context, the design outcome is
a usable and flexible headquarters, leading to improved efficiency and
effectiveness of staff. The paper describes our attempt to analyse fundamental
constraints of the work environment.

In this paper we explore some of the ethical issues associated with
conducting Ethnographic Action Research (Tacchi, 2004; Tacchi et al., 2003) for
understanding and facilitating distributed collaboration. Ethnography and
action research are increasingly popular qualitative approaches to researching
computer-supported collaboration and we are applying them together in a project
within a distributed research centre. We identify ethical principles applied to
the conduct of research in Australia and we briefly describe a number of
ethical problems that arise due to the nature of Ethnographic Action Research.

"I think i can see it now!": evidence of learning in video transcripts of a
collaborative virtual reality surgical training trial

Networked collaborative virtual reality systems have been proposed for
surgical education. They allow an instructor to teach a student using a shared
virtual model, even if separated by distance. For these systems to be accepted
within the surgical community there must be a compelling body of evidence that
demonstrates that learning occurs in the training environment, and is
transferable to the operating theatre. We have developed a networked
multisensory virtual reality system for teaching surgery of the temporal bone
and conducted a training transfer trial. To augment the quantitative analysis
of the results, we have performed a qualitative analysis of the transcripts of
videotapes of the learning phase of the trial, using techniques from
Conversation Analysis. In this short paper we present a single case study that
convincingly demonstrates that learning occurred within the instruction phase
of the trial.

In recent years there has been trend away from single sensor/single (SS/SI)
indicator boards as the means by which overall understanding of current
work-flow is expressed. Rather, computer screen based Supervisory Control And
Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems are being modified to meet this need. This
paper discusses a continuing experiment that compares existing SCADA design
elements and those with simple display modification; display changes that
facilitate decision making by improving overall Situation Awareness (SA).

Recently, listening to music in shuffle mode has gained a strong following.
Analysis of online data about the 'shuffle experience' reveals a range of rich
and unusual user-experiences -- one in particular is Serendipity. Although
serendipity is often imbued with 'magic' or regarded as a product of chance and
luck, its effects can be inspirational and transformative. To date, little has
been done to understand and characterise this experience. We sketch an initial
understanding of serendipitous experience, and position it within a broader
view of user experience. We also surface some implications for user-centred
design processes.

Activity Theory meets Structuration Theory. We propose structuration of
activity as an alternative theoretical lens for human activity and its
dynamics. Drawing from the strength of and the critiques to Activity Theory
(AT) and Giddens' Structuration Theory (ST), we attempt to recast both AT and
ST on the understanding of human activity in the larger social context. We
present a brief introduction to AT and ST, their intertwined motive and
approaches. Finally, we outline structuration of activity and close the paper
with its significances.

The design of applications with multimodal interfaces currently implies
complex handcrafting by interface experts, lack of compliance with industry
standards of cost effectiveness, maintenance and user focus such as those
achieved by the current User-Centered Design methods. This paper presents an
initial step towards a design by-example approach, whereby the end-user's
multimodal preferences for a specific domain can be learned during the design
phase. In particular, we propose to alleviate the design costs by using
tangible objects for designing multimodal user interfaces. Heuristic evaluation
shows small to no effect on the user's preferred multimodal behaviour when
comparing tangible and virtual objects during design.

We report the results of a pilot study examining significant domestic
objects, and the associated user experience. We propose a conceptual framework
capturing three types of user-modified functionalities. We used the framework
as a lens through which to view the relationship between user activities and
user-modified functionalities. Our findings indicate that modified
functionalities result in attracting both objects and personal activities to
the surrounding area. Significant objects with modified functionalities seem to
help users create a private 'space' within the 'place' of home that can fulfil
or accommodate their personal ritual activities and habitual tendencies. We
conclude by speculating that such user-modified functions are early indicators
of opportunities for technical innovation.

This paper describes the user experiences gained from the use of a location
sensitive mobile services in urban environment, collected with a diary study
and user interviews over one summer. In this study users' perceived problems
and the resulting frustration and difficulties in use were mainly caused by
slow or unreliable data connections and lack of content in mobile services. On
the other hand, users identified the future potential of these mobile services.

3D display based on motion parallax using non-contact 3D measurement of head
position

In this paper, a novel non-contact 3D display based on motion parallax is
proposed. The 3D viewpoint of the user is measured by real-time non-contact
measurement system. By moving the user's head position and watching a CG image
which corresponds to the measured viewpoint, the user can perceive 3D
information using a normal flat display. Basic experiments for depth perception
using single eye and both eyes of the user are conducted to show the
feasibility of the system.

Documents produced in the past usually exist in multiple versions. There is
an inherent difficulty in recording and visualising variation between different
versions, which is inhibiting efforts to make literature available online. This
paper describes a novel document structure, which accurately records variations
and facilitates their visualisation.

Towards a framework to analyse information architecture work practices

This paper reports early findings based on comparing working practices and
understandings of information architecture (IA) practitioners. We interviewed
and observed a web developer who is also doing the implementation of his IAs.
We also interviewed consultants with formal human computer interaction &
ergonomics approach to IA. The paper extracts from the literature, our
interviews and our observations basic techniques an information architect uses;
these findings are presented via two case scenarios. We then propose the IA
framework that enables us to analyse differences in IA work practices.

New communication technologies are changing the way travellers gossip and
trade advice while on the road. This paper presents initial results from our
studies of backpacker culture and identifies gaps where future technologies
could assist backpackers in existing situations. Our research included
contextual interviews with backpackers, tours of hostel accommodation, and
reviews of online discussion and blogging sites. Results so far indicate the
need for mobile devices which can help a social, distributed community to
connect and coordinate. To address this, we have developed methods of depicting
community interaction and context of use, and prototype mobile travel
assistants.

Internet misuse is becoming an increasingly serious problem in the
workplace. Cyber-slacking occurs when employees use their work access to engage
in personal web activities, whilst maintaining the appearance of working
(Lavoie & Pychyl, 2001). Personality traits associated with Internet use and
misuse in the workplace were considered. Eighty-four participants completed an
Internet use survey and a personality inventory (NEO FFI). Of the 5 personality
traits considered, Openness was positively correlated with conducting more
work-related web searches and Agreeableness was negatively correlated with
hours spent online at work. Extraverts sent higher numbers of both work-related
and non work-related emails. This study provides estimates of the proportions
of time spent cyber-slacking, indicating the most common forms and possible
predictors of these behaviours.

An ongoing challenge for designers of interactive systems is to take into
account its various contexts of use. Picture Scenarios, which use photographic
stories to depict situations, are one promising technique. An analysis is
presented of 31 picture scenarios developed by student design teams, to
determine in what ways contextual factors are shown to bear on an interactive
task. A continuum of contextual strength emerged: purely interaction; purely
functional; weak fusion; strong fusion; purely situation. The significance of
this continuum for design is briefly discussed.